The Thanksgiving Tradition That’s Good for Your Health

‘Tis the season for gathering with family, stuffing ourselves with a delicious dinner, and giving thanks – making Thanksgiving one of my favorite holidays of the year.?

While too much turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy topped off with a big piece of pumpkin pie might not be the best thing for our health, the part about being thankful is definitely good for our overall well-being.

You know that showing gratitude can make the person you thank feel good, but there’s a lot of evidence that giving thanks can make you healthier and happier, too.

According to a recent article from the Harvard Medical School, a large body of medical and psychological research indicates that “gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.”

Clinical trials indicate that the practice of gratitude can lower blood pressure, improve immune function and provide other health benefits. For example:

• Psychologists from the University of California and the University of Miami found that individuals who wrote about things they were grateful for were more optimistic and felt better about their lives than a group asked to write about daily irritations. The grateful group also exercised more and had fewer visits to physicians.
• According to research published by the American Psychological Association, recognizing and giving thanks for the positive aspects of life can result in improved mental, and ultimately physical, health in patients with asymptomatic heart failure.
• In a study at the University of Pennsylvania, individuals who wrote and personally delivered a letter of gratitude to someone who had never been properly thanked for his or her kindness immediately exhibited a measurable increase in happiness that could last for weeks.

“Gratitude is good medicine,” confirms Robert A. Emmons, a professor of psychology at the University of California, and author of The Little Book of Gratitude.

And these days, the world can use a lot more of that medicine to overcome the negativism, pessimism and extremism that permeates too much of our daily lives. Now more than ever, we need to be lifting people up, not looking for ways to knock them down. As a society, we need to focus on being more grateful, not hateful. Being respectful, not resentful.

In the words of the Dalai Lama, “When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.”

Thanksgiving provides a perfect opportunity to acknowledge the goodness in our lives and to show appreciation to others. I find myself repeating “We are lucky people!” to my family perhaps more than they would like to hear, but now I know from these studies that it’s a good practice for our health and well-being.

Simple but sincere gestures can mean a lot.

For example, my family started a tradition at Thanksgiving dinner where each person says what they are thankful for. You can send a hand-written thank-you note or email to someone who made a difference in your life. If the person you want to thank is no longer with us, pay their kindness forward with an act of kindness to someone else. Start a gratitude journal to write down positive things you experience each week. Before each day begins, spend a moment quietly reflecting on the good things in your life.?

If you do any of these things, the science shows you’ll feel a whole lot better.

P.S. I was thinking of ending this post by asking readers to add a comment about someone or something they’re thankful for, but it would be more powerful if you actually call or write that person to thank them for what they’ve done for you.